Nehemia ta yapula otembeli eshi e uya olutivali kuJerusalem
1 Efiku tuu olo va leshela momatwi ovanhu momhango yaMoses. Ndele omo mwa shangwa nokutya, nande Omuammoni ile Omumoabi umwe ita itavelelwa okuuya fiyo alushe meongalo laKalunga. 2 Osheshi inave uya okushakeneka ovana vaIsrael noku va etela omingome nomeva, ndele va futa Bileam e va tule omutima. Ndelenee Kalunga ketu okwa lundulula etulomutima la ninga enangeko noupuna. 3 Ndele vo eshi va uda omhango, ova tukula mo mOvaisraeli ovanhu aveshe ve neehonde da lumbakana.
4 Ndelenee nale omupristeli Eljasib, ou a tulwa po a pashukile eendjuwo domongulu yaKalunga nokwa li haukwe waTobia, 5 okwa longekidila Tobia ondjuwo inene, omo va tuvikila nale eendjayambo, oitwiminifo noilongifo noitimulongo yoilya noyomaviinyu noyomaadi, oitukulwa yopamhango yOvalevi noyovaimbi noyovanangeli vopoivelo neeshaliyambo dovapristeli. 6 Ndelenee oinima oyo aishe fimbo tai ningwa, kanda li muJerusalem. Osheshi omudo omutimilongo nhatu nomutivali waArtasasta, ohamba yaBabilon, ame nde uya kohamba. Ndele eshi pa pita omafiku ame nda pula kohamba ndi itavelwe 7 ndele nde uya kuJerusalem. Opo nee nda dimbulukwa owii ou Eljasib a ninga eshi a longekidila Tobia ondjuwo moihale yongulu yaKalunga. 8 Ame nda ninga omwenyo mwii unene, onghee hano nda ekelashi pondje oinima yaTobia, 9 ndele nda lombwela ve nokuyapula eendjuwo; ndele nda shunifa mo oinima yomongulu yaKalunga eendjayambo noitwiminifo.
10 Ndele nda dimbulukwa vali, nokutya inava yandja kOvalevi oitukulwa yavo, onghee hano Ovalevi novaimbi ava ve nokudiinina oshilonga, keshe umwe okwa faduka po a ya kepya laye. 11 Ndele nda twifa ovawiliki eemhata ndele handi ti: “Omolwashike ongulu yaKalunga inai diininwa?” Ndele nde va ongela nonde va tula vali moilonga yavo. 12 NOvajuda aveshe va eta oitimulongo yoilya noyomaviinyu noyomaadi komalimba. 13 Ndele nda tula omupristeli Selemja nomushangi Sadok naPedaja vomOvalevi va ninge ovapashukili vomamona. Ndele ngaashi ovayakuli vavo: Hanan yaSakkur yaMattanja, shaashi vo va li ve shii kulineekelwa. Ndele vo ve nokutukulila ovamwaina ovalumenhu. 14 Omolwaashi, dimbulukwe nge, Kalunga kange, ndele ino dima po oilonga yange iwa, oyo nde i ningila ongulu yaKalunga kange noilonga yayo.
15 Pomafiku enya nda mona muJuda ovanhu tava kolo moshikolelo ndele tava eta mo mefiku lEshabata omakutu oilya a londekwa keendongi, nosho yo omaviinyu, eeviinyu neenghwiyu neefulaxa di lili nadi lili tava eta mefiku lEshabata muJerusalem. Ame onde va londwela, vo eshi va landifa oinima yeendja mefiku olo. 16 NOvatirus yo ava va kala mo, va eta mo eeshi noipindi i lili nai lili ndele ve i landifa kOvajuda muJerusalem shoovene mEshabata. 17 Ndele nda twifa ovanamadina vomuJuda eemhata ndele handi ti kuvo: “Owii ou fike peni tamu u ningi, eshi tamu shekifa efiku lEshabata? 18 Ooxo yeni osho va ningile, onghee hano Kalunga ketu e tu etela noshilando eshi omupya aushe ou. Heeno, nye otamu hapupalifa oupyuhandu kombada yaIsrael, eshi tamu shekifa efiku lEshabata.” 19 Ndele naanaa etango eshi la toka moivelo yaJerusalem Eshabata fimbo inali hovela, ame nda tya oivelo i nokwiidilwa. Ndele nde va lombwela vehe i yeulule fimbo Eshabata inali pita. Ndele nda tula ovapiya vange poivelo; ofulaxa nande imwe inai etwa mo mefiku lEshabata. 20 Opo nee ovalandifi novashingifi voipindi i lili nai lili va nangala pondje yaJerusalem luvali. 21 Ndelenee ame nde va londwela ndele handi ti kuvo: “Omolwashike tamu nangala pondje yohotekuma? Ngeenge tamu shi ningi vali efiku limwe, handi mu kwata.” Okefimbo linya inave uya vali efiku lEshabata. 22 Ame nda lombwela vali Ovalevi, nokutya ve nokuliyelifa nokuuya va nangele oivelo opo efiku lEshabata li yapulwe. Dimbulukwe nge molwoshinima eshi yo, Kalunga kange, u file nge onghenda omolwouwanghenda woye uhapu.
23 Pomafiku enya nda mona Ovajuda va hombola ovakainhu Ovaasdod nOvaammoni nOvamoab. 24 Ndele movana vavo etata la popya Oshiasdod ile elaka limwe loiwana. Ndelenee inava shiiva okupopya Oshiheberi. 25 Onghee hano nde va twifa eemhata ndele nde va tula omutima ndele vamwe vomuvo nde va denga, ndele nde va shila keexwiki ndele nde va anifa puKalunga: “Inamu yandja ovana veni oukadona kovana vavo ovamati, ndele inamu kufa movana vavo oukadona va hombolwe kovana veni ovamati ile kunye vene. 26 Ndishi Salomo, ohamba yaIsrael, inai nyonifwa kuvo mbela? Nande moiwana inamu kala nande ohamba i fike puye, ye okwa li omuholike waKalunga, ndele Kalunga e mu ninga ohamba yOvaisraeli aveshe, ovalikadi ovanailongo ve mu nyonifa. 27 Ndele paife tu nokuuda molweni, nokutya mwa ninga owii aushe ou munene, eshi mwe liteeka Kalunga mokuhombola ovakainhu ovanailongo.”
28 Nomona umwe omumati womovana vaJehoiada omona womupristeli omukulunhu Eljasib, okwa li oshitenya shaSanballat, Omuhoroni. Onghee hano ame nde mu taataa pwaame. 29 Kalunga kange, va dimbulukwa, osheshi vo ova nyateka oupristeli nehangano lovapristeli nolOvalevi.
30 Osho ngaha hano nde va yapula mwaashishe shokoilongo. Ndele nda pangelela ovapristeli nOvalevi oilonga yavo, keshe umwe moshilonga shaye, 31 nosho yo omafiku oo ve na okutyava oikuni nooshipe yo. Kalunga kange, dimbulukwe nge ndi mone ouwa!
Separation from Foreigners
1 When the Law of Moses was being read aloud to the people, they came to the passage that said that no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to be permitted to join God's people. 2 This was because the people of Ammon and Moab did not give food and water to the Israelites on their way out of Egypt. Instead, they paid money to Balaam to curse Israel, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 When the people of Israel heard this law read, they excluded all foreigners from the community.
Nehemiah's Reforms
4 The priest Eliashib, who was in charge of the Temple storerooms, had for a long time been on good terms with Tobiah. 5 He allowed Tobiah to use a large room that was intended only for storing offerings of grain and incense, the equipment used in the Temple, the offerings for the priests, and the tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil given to the Levites, to the Temple musicians, and to the Temple guards. 6 While this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes was king of Babylon I had gone back to report to him. After some time I received his permission 7 and returned to Jerusalem. There I was shocked to find that Eliashib had allowed Tobiah to use a room in the Temple. 8 I was furious and threw out all of Tobiah's belongings. 9 I gave orders for the rooms to be ritually purified and for the Temple equipment, grain offerings, and incense to be put back.
10 I also learned that the Temple musicians and other Levites had left Jerusalem and gone back to their farms, because the people had not been giving them enough to live on. 11 I reprimanded the officials for letting the Temple be neglected. And I brought the Levites and musicians back to the Temple and put them to work again. 12 Then all the people of Israel again started bringing to the Temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil. 13 I put the following men in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, a priest; Zadok, a scholar of the Law; and Pedaiah, a Levite. Hanan, the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, was to be their assistant. I knew I could trust these men to be honest in distributing the supplies to the other workers.
14 Remember, my God, all these things that I have done for your Temple and its worship.
15 At that time I saw people in Judah pressing juice from grapes on the Sabbath. Others were loading grain, wine, grapes, figs, and other things on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem; I warned them not to sell anything on the Sabbath. 16 Some people from the city of Tyre were living in Jerusalem, and they brought fish and all kinds of goods into the city to sell to our people on the Sabbath. 17 I reprimanded the Jewish leaders and told them, “Look at the evil you're doing! You're making the Sabbath unholy. 18 This is exactly why God punished your ancestors when he brought destruction on this city. And yet you insist on bringing more of God's anger down on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 So I gave orders for the city gates to be shut at the beginning of every Sabbath, as soon as evening began to fall, and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my men at the gates to make sure that nothing was brought into the city on the Sabbath. 20 Once or twice merchants who sold all kinds of goods spent Friday night outside the city walls. 21 I warned them, “It's no use waiting out there for morning to come. If you try this again, I'll use force on you.” From then on they did not come back on the Sabbath. 22 I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and guard the gates to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy.
Remember me, O God, for this also, and spare me because of your great love.
23 At that time I also discovered that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or some other language and didn't know how to speak our language. 25 I reprimanded the men, called down curses on them, beat them, and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath in God's name that never again would they or their children intermarry with foreigners. 26 I told them, “It was foreign women that made King Solomon sin. Here was a man who was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him and made him king over all of Israel, and yet he fell into this sin. 27 Are we then to follow your example and disobey our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 Joiada was the son of Eliashib the High Priest, but one of Joiada's sons married the daughter of Sanballat, from the town of Beth Horon, so I made Joiada leave Jerusalem.
29 Remember, God, how those people defiled both the office of priest and the covenant you made with the priests and the Levites.
30 I purified the people from everything foreign; I prepared regulations for the priests and the Levites so that all of them would know their duties; 31 I arranged for the wood used for burning the offerings to be brought at the proper times, and for the people to bring their offerings of the first grain and the first fruits that ripened.
Remember all this, O God, and give me credit for it.
